lol
All that means is that you trade alkalinity depleting for calcium rising.
Is that a problem in a reef aquarium which can not be solved?
It may happen constantly when a nitrifying biofilm grows on aragonite sand,
Last edited:
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
lol
All that means is that you trade alkalinity depleting for calcium rising.
It may happen constantly when a nitrifying biofilm grows on aragonite sand,
It may happen constantly when a nitrifying biofilm grows on aragonite sand,
Yes, as I said, the fundamental sulfur process depletes alkalinity, and if you couple that with something that adds back that alkalinity and at the same time adding calcium, the calcium will rise.
That's really no better than upping your daily dose of calcium and alk however you normally add it, but in all cases, calcium will rise unless you up the alk and not the calcium.
It's certainly a manageable problem, and is not the only reason I prefer organic carbon dosing.
No, it's not a problem that cannot be solved. It's also a problem that is easily avoided by using a different method entirely. lol
Sure. Just like claiming that nitrification depletes alkalinity. But the consumption of nitrate in ANY fashion aside from the sulfur system will give that alkalinity back.
The BADES process produces sulphate.
It is a fact sulphate is held back in the calcium columns used in SLAD systems but also in marine BADES systems . In SLAD sulphate is bound to produced calcium making gipsum which is sometimes responsible for obstructions.
It is a fact sulphate precipitates on the chalk used in marine BADESSystems as the sulphate content of the chalk increases with the time of use from +- 200mg/gram to +- 400mg/gram, which is a lot. How and why this precipitation takes place is for me still a mystery I want to solve.
Hi Belgian Anthias,
So the difference between a normal sulfur denitrator and the BADES system is just the flow rate going through the reactor? A higher flow rate that keeps the reactor not anoxic is the goal for BADESS?
Also, I could also just place some sulfur media inside a mesh bag in the sump and it would function similarly as well but not as controlled? Is that correct?
Not exactly.. the reactor must be big enough !
A bag must be very fine mesh to hold the sulphur mix .
A BADES reactor is started up with low flow to install the denitrification capacity by following the MAAO method and gradually increased . Is used to lower a high nitrate level fast and to maintain the desired target level. Does not influence the carrying capacity much. All Nitrate-nitrogen entered is removed and exported.
A BADES biofilm reactor is started up as a normal bio-reactor for installing the nitrification capacity needed. Then the flow is gradually reduced until the nitrate level of the effluent is a bit lower as the level in the in-fluent. This way in the reactor by nitrification produced nitrate is removed and a bit more to reduce the level in the system. Is used to lower and maintain the desired nitrate level. Will increase the carrying capacity . Ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen is removed and exported
Using BADES columns it is important the water flow is not forced true the media. The columns have a diameter between 4 and 5 cm ( 2 inch). Will remove and export in the columns produced nitrate-nitrogen. Will increase the carrying capacity.
Also a layer of +- 4cm between two filter pads will do.
I have been reading your posts here and on the other forums for a few hours now and I think I get the point you are trying to make. You need to have 1% of your water volume in sulfur media which you run in the tank at a higher flow rate vs normal sulfur denitrators. You let the flow of water run faster so that it does not become anoxic and since the volume of the sulfur is high, even though oxygen is present, there will still be enough anaerobic areas in the sulfur media to manage the nitrates in the tank.
When the nitrates are high in the tank, a lower flow is needed to lower the oxygen and allow for more anaerobic space in the sulfur media. When the nitrates are low in the tank, the flow should be increased so the anaerobic areas decrease in relation to the available nitrates in the tank and more nitrates are made available to the reactor.
Is my understanding correct? I tried to log in the site you linked. I registered but it still will not allow me to log in.
1. My question is how is this managed in large tanks? My tanks total water volume including the sump is around 600g which would mean i would need at least 6 gallons of sulfur media? I dont think there is a large enough reactor to hold 6 gallons of media unless customized. I have a calcium reactor with only 6L capacity I was planning to use for this purpose.
2. Also does the reactor need to be recirculating or not??
3. Also my system now runs macroalgae, skimmers, GAC, but not carbon dosing. I would like to add a sulfur denitrator to help with the nitrates from my heavy bioload. What about using a smaller reactor than 1% of the tank volume and adjusting only to the point where it is not anoxic it can contribute still to the nitrate reduction in the tank? Is this possible in BADES? I dont need it to be the only solution so any contributed to lowering nitrates for my tank is good enough.
I am following this discussion. I want to try it on a small scale.
How old is your system?
How much substrate does the tank have? I am wondering if your substrate volume is 1%.
Any estimate on how much nitrate your macro algae is removing? I have sneaking suspicion that it removes much less than bacteria. Any thoughts?
I am also suspecting it removes a lot less than bacteria potentially. You would need a huge refugium for it to be able to keep up which is why I would also want to try a denitrator. Im not a big fan of carbon dosing so this would be the best way for me I think.
Right now im still preparing the calcium reactor i will modify and waiting for the sulphur i ordered to arrive. I was hoping to use less than 1%.. Maybe 0.5% of the tank volume.
What is your issue with carbon dosing? Just wondering, no debate.
Not exactly.. the reactor must be big enough !
A bag must be very fine mesh to hold the sulphur mix .
A BADES reactor is started up with low flow to install the denitrification capacity by following the MAAO method and gradually increased . Is used to lower a high nitrate level fast and to maintain the desired target level. Does not influence the carrying capacity much. All Nitrate-nitrogen entered is removed and exported.
A BADES biofilm reactor is started up as a normal bio-reactor for installing the nitrification capacity needed. Then the flow is gradually reduced until the nitrate level of the effluent is a bit lower as the level in the in-fluent. This way in the reactor by nitrification produced nitrate is removed and a bit more to reduce the level in the system. Is used to lower and maintain the desired nitrate level. Will increase the carrying capacity . Ammonium- and nitrate-nitrogen is removed and exported
Using BADES columns it is important the water flow is not forced true the media. The columns have a diameter between 4 and 5 cm ( 2 inch). Will remove and export in the columns produced nitrate-nitrogen. Will increase the carrying capacity.
Also a layer of +- 4cm between two filter pads will do.
The wrong type of bacteria might get fed and then multiply and start killing the corals. It also increases the DOC levels in the tank and unless it can be checked accurately, personally id much rather not. Thats about it.
The wrong type of bacteria might get fed and then multiply and start killing the corals. It also increases the DOC levels in the tank and unless it can be checked accurately, personally id much rather not. Thats about it.
For a 900gallon tank where I want the nitrates to go from 50ppm-60ppm to lets say just 10-15ppm, not necessarily to go as low as 1 or 2ppm, how much sulfur media would i be needing? If i follow the 1% recommendation, that would be 9 gallons of sulfur but unless i do a DIY, i think it would be hard to find a reactor that can do that much.
What amount of sulfur would be sufficient just to reduce the nitrates to that level? Would around 5 gallons do?
Also, if I was checking ORP in the reactor, what reading should I be looking for? Should the reading stay in the positive? Or should i target something like -50mv which is higher than the -170mv I sometimes read in the forums?